Prepared by:

Lokman Hafiz Bin Asary

SMK Bagan Serai

SET 1

33. The following are the novels studied in the literature component in English Language.
Dear Mr Kilmer

Anne Scraff

Sing to The Dawn

Minfong Ho

Captain Nobody

Dean Pitch

Choose one of the novels above and answer the question below.
Based on the novel that you have studied, do you think it is a good reading? Support your
answer with evidence from the novel.
[15 marks]
Sample answer:

Based on the novel Sing to The Dawn written by Minfong Ho, I really have to say
that I like it that much as it is a very good reading and has many to offer to the readers.
First and foremost, the main reason why the book is a good reading is due to the
fact that it is an inspiring story to begin with. The story talks about the struggle of a young
Thai girl, Dawan who faces a lot of daunting challenges in order to realise her dream to
study in the city. Throughout the novel, she bravely faces all the hindrance that comes her
way, especially from her brother, Kwai who was placed second in the school exam. This
determined girl shows no fear and is not affected by almost anything. She is also not
discouraged by the horrors of the city told by her cousin, Noi.
Apart from that, another reason worth-noted to vouch for this novel is because it
offers a lot of important lessons to be learnt. The novel teaches us not to give up on our
dream. With so many people going against her, it is impressive that Dawan is so adamant
not to give in to the surrounding pressure. From the novel, we know that her father is not
happy with the idea of letting her go to the town to further studies. He is persistent that

education is only for the boys and that Dawan should give up her place to her brother
instead who came second in the school exam. The novel also teaches us not to be afraid to
make change. Despite being warned by her cousin of the threats she may face in the city,
she is not wavered at all. She struggled against the odds to prove that girls also deserve to
enjoy the same privileges the boys do in response to the hostility shown by her brother and
disapproval of her father.
Last but not least, the story relates closely to the issues that are taking place in the
society. Gender inequality is one of the main issues brought up in the novel. Such issue is
apparently palpable in the society. Dawan is determined to fight gender inequality which is
unfortunately apparent in her surroundings. Even her brother and father, the ones who are
close to her and the ones who are supposed to protect her do not support her at first. Even
her mother has no say in making decision and cannot give Dawan her full support because
she believes that it is not her place to say anything. Evidently in most part of the world,
gender inequality is still one of the most challenging issues and this is clearly portrayed in
the novel.
Based on the reasons stated above, I strongly believe that the novel Sing to The
Dawn written by Minfong Ho is a good piece of reading because apart from being an
inspiring story that teaches the readers a lot of things, it is also very much relatable to
many of us. I would also like to recommend this novel to my other friends and I think they
will most probably enjoy reading it too.

SET 2

33. The following are the novels studied in the literature component in English Language.
Dear Mr Kilmer

Anne Scraff

Sing to The Dawn

Minfong Ho

Captain Nobody

Dean Pitch

Choose one of the novels above and answer the question below.
Based on the novel that you have studied, describe a character you dislike the most?
Support your answer with evidence from the novel.
[15 marks]
Sample Answer:

Based on the novel Sing to The Dawn written by Minfong Ho, the character that I
dislike the most is Vichai, Baos brother and also Dawans classmate. There is more than
just a single reason which makes him the least favoured character in this novel.
First and foremost, the main reason as to why I dislike this character the most is
due to the fact that he is such a bad-tempered person. We can observe from this novel that
Vichai is rather quick with his temper and he simply cannot manage his anger. Instead, he
gets mad easily and resorts to violence when things do not go the way he envisages and
wishes. Take for instance When Bao allows Dawan to release a bird for free, Vichai
immediately comes to the market stall and hits her because of that mere reason. They both
further argue and Bao tries to free all the birds in a protest of how Vichai has aggressively
reacted over the incident making Vichai even more enraged. As if possessed, Vichai gets
even more furious and tries to hit Bao again. As a person who hates violence, this simply
makes me feel annoyed and completely abhor him.
Apart from being portrayed as a bad-tempered character, Vichai is also a
representative example of a materialistic individual which is why I dislike him even more.
He only cares for the money more than his own sister whom he should have loved more
dearly. In the novel, we know that he catches birds and puts them in cages so that he can
ask Bao to sell the birds. The people who come to the market will pay them to free the
birds as a means to make merit. Forget it if you expect him to thank Bao. He does not even
express his gratitude toward Bao let alone sharing what they earn. Besides that, he is very

calculative with the money and can tell at once if the money was short. He immediately
turns furious upon finding out the truth. This is most likely the reason why Bao describes
her brother as money-making bully and of course I couldnt agree more with Bao. This is
just perfect to describe how I dislike Vichai.
Last but not least, another glaring reason that I cant seem to overlook is that he is
downright selfish. What this character portrays is a perfect epitome of how surprisingly
selfish one can turn out to be. He only thinks of himself and never empathises with others.
In one of the chapters of the novel, we get to know why he is one because he forces Bao to
sell the birds that he has caught and takes all the money for himself. He refuses to share the
money earned even though Bao is the one who is doing all the selling. Not only that, he is
so full of himself and thinks that he is doing the right thing and refuses to listen to others
as well. He doesnt want to listen to Baos explanation and resort to violence when
confronted and provoked. Besides that, he does not make full use of the precious
opportunity he is bestowed with. He gets to go to school but instead of striving for a better
future, he is slacking away in his studies not trying his very best. Just imagine what Bao
could have shown had she been given the same chance. This just goes to show that he is
one selfish individual and is all the more reason why I do not like this character the most.
Based on the reasons stated above, I cant seem to find anyone else I would
strongly dislike other than Vichai. He is a true portrayal of how an individual can be
materialistic, bad-tempered and selfish at the same time and I vehemently believe that I am
not the only one who dislikes him. I really hope that readers can learn a lot from this novel
especially from the characters who have shown good qualities.

SET 3

33. The following are the novels studied in the literature component in English Language.
Dear Mr Kilmer

Anne Scraff

Sing to The Dawn

Minfong Ho

Captain Nobody

Dean Pitch

Choose one of the novels above and answer the question below.
Based on the novel that you have studied, describe how the issue of injustice is portrayed
throughout the novel? Support your answer with evidence from the novel.
[15 marks]

Sample Answer:
Based on the novel Sing to The Dawn written by Minfong Ho, there are a number
of issues brought up and highlighted by the author. One of the main issues that is clearly
portrayed throughout the novel is injustice. To further clarify on this significant issue, I
shall focus on gender inequality and social class orientation (bourgeois).
First and foremost, the issue of injustice is evidently depicted in a form of gender
inequality throughout this novel. Gender inequality is very dominant in this novel as we
continue on to observe how the society is illustrated by Minfong Ho. The obvious example
is how the female characters are denied the same rights and privileges enjoyed by their
male counterparts. For example, Dawan has no other choices but to accept the scholarship
because father once said that he would stop financing Dawan in the following year but
insisted that Kwai should go to school instead. He is willing to send Kwai to school as
long as Kwai wants to go on studying. Apart from that, Bao also doesnt go to school when
her brother Vichai gets to enrol. She is so excited to hear the stories from Dwan about
school and is extremely thrilled when she finally gets to meet Dawan and keeps praising
Dawan for her remarkable achievement. She used to stay at home babysitting, cooking and
doing the laundry that she gets too bored and decided to work outside to help her family. It
is so sad to think of the potentials that she could have shown in the stead of Vichai who is
not making full use of the opportunity.

Apart from being denied the same privileges and rights the boys enjoy, women are
also disregarded and their voices are kept unheard. In the society, the women have little
authority on what they wish to do and what they want in life. Her mother simply has no
say in making decision and cannot give Dawan her full support because she believes that it
is not her place to say anything. If that is not clear to make you see how injustice is taking
place in the story, do remember that Bao once claims that the girls have always had to
stand aside and let their brothers do all the challenging things. She further argues that
when they get married, they have to stand aside for their spouses. It will not just end there
as they have to stand aside for their children. It goes without any sayings that there is an
issue of gender inequality in this novel.
Another important issue that should not be overlooked when it comes to injustice is
how social class orientation plays a significant role in leading to this. Injustice and
oppression is rather palpably clear throughout the novel. Take for instance the landlord
who has been exploiting the villagers who use his land to cultivate paddy to win them their
daily bread. He suppresses and oppresses the villagers by making them handing him bags
of rice they have stocked. Dawans and Nois family are no exemption. They have to hand
in big pile of rice sacks to the landlord to pay for the land rent. They suffer because they
are poor and nothing much could be done so much so they have barely enough to last.
Apart from that, the army officer by the name of Mr Phrasphras has been prowling around
the village leeching on the villagers by taking sum of money from those who want their
children/ spouses to be exempted from the army enlistment. The villagers cannot do
anything but agree to his terms because sending their children and spouses off to enlist in
the army would mean that fewer breadwinners are there for them to earn the living.
Besides, the pay they get from serving in the army is hardly enough to feed a cockroach.
As a result, they are threatened by this officer who has tied their hands and feet with his
terms.
All in all, the issue of injustice is clearly one of the dominant issues that revolves
around this novel and there are just more than enough evidences as stated above to support
this argument. Unfortunately, this is also happening in the real life and I hope we get to
learn a lot from this novel to fix such issue.

SET 4
33. The following are the novels studied in the literature component in English Language.
Dear Mr Kilmer

Anne Scraff

Sing to The Dawn

Minfong Ho

Captain Nobody

Dean Pitch

Choose one of the novels above and answer the question below.
Education is the key to pave ways for a better future.
Based on the novel that you have studied, describe how this issue of is significantly
brought up in the novel? Support your answer with evidence from the novel.
[15 marks]

Sample Answer:
Based on the novel Sing to The Dawn written by Minfong Ho, the importance of
education is evidently highlighted throughout the novel. Indeed, education is the key to
pave ways for better future and this issue is one of the main themes brought up by the
writer.
First and foremost, readers get to understand that education is undeniably a vital
key to raise awareness among the people so that they will realise that it is important to
them. For example, Dawan and Kwai realise the importance of education in improving
ones life. It is in fact due the education that they both receive that drives them to do their
best to obtain the scholarship. For Dawan and Kwai, education will ensure a brighter
future not only for them, but also for their family and their people. Both Dawai and Kwan
share similar dreams which are to learn and get better education so that they will be helpful
in creating change for her village. She also believes that she can be as good leader as
anyone else would be if she gets better education. The scholarship to study in the big city
is very important to them because it is the stepping stone for them to realise their dream.
Apart from that, education is seen as a golden ticket to develop the rural area so
that the gap that is there between the people here and the people in big city will not further
extend. Both Dawan and Kwai are really hopeful that they will get this ticket. They
believe that getting the scholarship comes with even bigger responsibility that is to come

back, serve the society and change the people. For Kwai, it means to be able to learn and
bring back home the technology so they can cultivate new crops, use better fertiliser or
even open up a hospital for the people. For dawan, getting the scholarship means that no
more people will look down on women and more door will equally be opened for them if
she can prove that she can do as good as the other male counterparts.
Last but not least, education is crucially significant to fix the misguided stigma in
the society whereby females are always regarded as less capable and that it is no use to
make a major difference to this. For instance, Kwai clearly stresses that her sister cannot
make so much changes and that she is not capable to lead people in times of crisis simply
because he was indoctrinated that a girl would never make a good leader after all. Their
father is also not happy to let Dawan go to the city to pursue her dream because he just
does not see why she needs to do so. Even the old monk is not helping in any ways.
Nevertheless, Dawan wants to prove that they are wrong and the only way for her to do
that is to get better education. Dawan is very optimistic and positive that she can be as
good as Kwai would be in leading the society if she is given the same chance and privilege
and in this case, a chance to get better education. She clearly knows that education is
undeniably vital to change the status quo in her society and fix the stigma and misguided
notion that females are no better than the males.
In a gist, education is indeed one of the key elements to pave ways for a much
better and brighter future. This is evidently portrayed as the story progresses and
beautifully depicted through the characters of this novel as aforementioned.

SET 5
33. The following are the novels studied in the literature component in English Language.
Dear Mr Kilmer

Anne Scraff

Sing to The Dawn

Minfong Ho

Captain Nobody

Dean Pitch

Choose one of the novels above and answer the question below.
Based on the novel that you have studied, describe a supporting character that has helped
the main character to realise her/his dream. Support your answer with evidence from the
novel.
[15 marks]

Sample Answer:
Based on the novel Sing to The Dawn written by Minfong Ho, there is no doubt
that Dawan is surrounded by a lot of great people who have helped her in braving the
challenges in life. One of the most notably important characters who has helped Dawan to
realise her dream is no other than her own grandmother.
First and foremost, her grandmother is always there to comfort and encourage her.
When everyone else is making her feel down, her grandmother is always there to give her
strength and never fails to support her. Upon knowing that Dawan is the winner for the
scholarship, she congratulates her warmly and tells Dawan that she is proud of her even
though Dawans parents are sceptical about the idea of letting their daughter go to the city
and study there. When Dawans father gets so mad upon accidentally knowing that Kwai
has actually been keeping quiet about his result, the scared Dawan is comforted by her
grandmother. Her grandmother makes her feel that she is not alone in facing all the
hardships.
Not only has her grandmother stood up for her, she also know what to do when it
calls for it and this has clearly helped Dawan along the way. even walks the talk and makes
plan for the poor girl. She is the one who suggests Dawan to see Noi and asks her what
Dawan should expect and know about the life of the city. She takes Dawan to Nois house
to get advice from her because Noi and her husband have both lived in the city before. She

puts Dawan before her even when knowing that Nois house is quiet far away from their
house. Furthermore, she is too old to walk as far as three kilometres in her condition under
the hot sun. Nevertheless, he doesnt even have to think twice to do so if that means
getting more support for Dawan to convince her father. Needless to say, she is Dawans
back bone and has helped Dawan in a lot of ways to reach for her dream.
Apart from the aforementioned reasons, her advice and words of wisdom is also
one of the reasons why Dawan plucks up the courage to confirm her decision. She advises
Dawan not to give up on the golden opportunity and to go according to her conscience and
does what she thinks are right for her. She also advises Dawan on how to survive when she
is away from her family and not to be timid if she is to face struggles in the city. When she
gives a lotus flower to Dawan, she wisely explains why she thinks Dawan is just like the
flower; all shut up tight, small and afraid of the outside but with good water and strong
sunlight, it will finally unfold petal by petal blooming fully. This has eventually appeased
Dawan and she finally is able to confirm her decision.
Therefore, based on the reasons provided above, I cant seem to find anyone else to
better describe the person who has meant the most to Dawan in her challenging journey to
realise her dream to study in the big city.